Elephant tramples tourist to death at famous national park
Zhang Yudong/Xinhua via Getty Images
(LONDON) — An elephant trampled a tourist on safari to death in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, officials said.
In what park officials are calling a “tragic accident,” the tourist was charged and trampled by an elephant near Crocodile River at Malelane Gate which “regrettably resulted in the loss of life,” according to a statement from South African National Parks released on Saturday.
“South African National Parks (SANParks) officials are at the scene to attend to the matter and support the family,” park officials said.
Authorities are currently investigating the events that led up to the incident as well as the circumstances surrounding the death of the tourist.
“Due to the sensitivity of this matter, we appeal to the public to refrain from posting any pictures or videos of the incident and the victim,” officials said.
Authorities have not yet released any information about the tourist who was killed in the incident.
“SANParks Board and Management extend their heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the deceased for the loss of their loved one,” officials said.
The Pacific island nation of Kiribati was the first country to ring in 2025, with its 133,500 citizens celebrating the new year at 5 a.m. ET on Tuesday. The Micronesian nation was soon followed into 2025 by the Chatham Islands in New Zealand at 5:15 a.m. ET.
Auckland, New Zealand
New Zealand’s capital Wellington and its largest city of Auckland — both located on the country’s North Island — welcomed 2025 at 6 a.m. ET. Fireworks lit up the Auckland skyline as massed crowds watched.
Sydney
Residents of the western Australian city of Sydney enjoyed a fireworks display three hours ahead of midnight local time, which is 8 a.m. ET.
The famed Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House provided a familiar backdrop for New Year’s revelers in the country’s largest city.
Tokyo
The words “Happy New Year” lit up a building in Tokyo as Japan ushered in 2025.
Seoul
In South Korea, people gathered at midnight to honor the victims of this weekend’s plane crash at South Korea’s Muan International Airport that killed 179 of the 181 people on board.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong said goodbye to 2024 with an epic fireworks display at 11 a.m. ET.
Beijing
Partyers posed with light-up sticks in Beijing at 11 a.m. ET.
The Philippines
The buildings were as bright as the fireworks in Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
(LONDON) — Hamas will release six more hostages on Saturday and the bodies of four deceased hostages on Thursday, Hamas and Israel confirmed.
Four more dead hostages are expected to be released next week in accordance with the ceasefire agreement, according to Israeli officials.
The hostages who will be released on Saturday have been identified as Eliya Cohen, 27; Tal Shoham, 40; Omer Shem Tov, 22; Omer Wenkrat, 23; Hisham Al-Sayed, 36; and Avera Mengistu, 39, according to Israeli officials and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum
Hamas accused Israel of procrastinating and evading engaging in the negotiations of the second phase and said it is ready to engage in negotiations to implement the terms of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement.
Last week, Hamas threatened to not release hostages over the weekend, saying Israel was not holding up its end of the ceasefire by delaying the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza, targeting them with gunfire and slowing down aid and said the hostage-prisoner exchange would be postponed.
Hamas later said the exchange will take place as planned and released three hostages on Saturday. The three hostages freed from captivity were U.S. national Sagui Dekel Chen, Iair Horn and Sasha Troufanov.
In exchange for Hamas releasing three more Israeli hostages, Israel freed another 369 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday, most of whom were arrested in the Gaza Strip after the terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
President Donald Trump had issued a deadline last week, telling Hamas to release all remaining hostages by Saturday or he would leave it up to Israel to decide whether to violate the ceasefire and continue fighting.
(WASHINGTON) — With Ukraine’s future in the balance, a high-stakes meeting on Friday between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy devolved into a shouting match.
The stunning exchange, before cameras and one unlike any other in the Oval Office in modern times, saw Trump and Vice President JD Vance rebuke Zelenskyy for his handling of the war, again falsely blaming the Ukrainian leader for a conflict that began when Russia’s Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion.
Zelenskyy was in Washington to sign an agreement that would give U.S. access to Ukraine’s mineral resources. But that was before boiling tensions exploded into public view as Trump and Vance accused Zelenskyy of being “disrespectful” toward the United States and the Trump administration.
Their news conference, where they were to sign the deal, was canceled. Trump issued a terse statement and Zelenskyy left shortly after.
“I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations,” Trump said in a social media post. “I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”
Here are key takeaways.
Trump threatens Zelenskyy: ‘Make a deal or we’re out’
After boxing Ukraine and Europe out of initial peace talks with Russia, Trump is continuing to claim Ukraine doesn’t have the “cards right now.”
“You’re gambling with World War III,” Trump told Zelenskyy as they talked over each other in the Oval Office.
he American president then seemed to deliver a kind of ultimatum to the Ukrainian leader.
“You’re either going to make a deal or we’re out,” Trump said. “And if we’re out, you’ll fight it out. I don’t think it’s going to be pretty, but you’ll fight it out.”
Vance gets involved, confronts Zelenskyy
At one point, Vance stepped in to defend Trump’s diplomatic approach, including his talks with Putin, and take aim at Zelenskyy.
Vance demanded to know whether Zelensky has said “thank you” once.
“Mr. President, with respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media,” Vance said to Zelenskyy. “Right now, you guys are going around enforcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict.”
Zelenskyy tried to interject to ask Vance if he’s ever been to Ukraine to see the destruction.
“First of all, during the war, everybody has problems, even you. But you have nice ocean and don’t feel now, but you will feel it in the future,” he told Vance.
Trump then jumped in again to chastise Zelenskyy: “Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel. We’re trying to solve a problem. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel.”
Zelenskyy calls Putin a ‘terrorist’
Prior to the blow-up between the leaders, Zelenskyy had harsh words for Putin.
“I really count on your strong position to stop Putin,” Zelenskyy said to Trump. “And you said that enough with the war. I think that’s very important being to say these words to Putin at the very beginning, at the very beginning of war, because he is a killer and terrorist. But I hope that together we can stop him.”
The comments come amid the radical shift in U.S. foreign policy that saw the U.S. first hold peace talks with Russian counterparts. Trump has called Zelenskyy a “dictator” but has declined to call Putin the same. On Thursday, Trump said he trusts Putin to “keep his word” if a deal is reached.
On Friday, Trump pushed back that he wasn’t “aligned” with Putin.
“I’m not aligned with Putin. I’m not aligned with anybody. I’m aligned with the United States of America, and for the good of the world. I’m alive with the world, and I want to get this thing over with,” Trump said.
But he then seemed to suggest Zelenskyy was a major obstacle in negotiations: “You see the hatred he’s got for Putin? It’s very tough for me to make a deal with that kind of hate.”
